Site bounces, shopping cart abandonments rise

More consumers abandoned shopping carts and clicked off e-commerce sites after just one click during the first quarter of this year than the same period a year ago, according to MarketLive’s recent Performance Index.

Based on activity from almost 100 e-commerce sites, MarketLive found that shopping cart abandonment rose 2.7% from 57.8% in Q1 2007, to 59.4% in the first quarter of 2008. Within the same period bounce rates also rose climbing approximately 6% from 32.9% to 39%.

The increase in Internet users starting their research using search engines has led to the increase in bounces, says MarketLive senior Internet strategist Jaye Sullivan, as consumers arrive at a site and instantly ascertain it’s not what they are looking for.

The reasons for the rise in cart abandonment rates remain the same as always – including lack of trust, surprise charges, lack of delivery options - but these are further exacerbated by the current economic environment where price is a key decider, and this extends to delivery costs as many shoppers are online to avoid car use.

“It’s a reflection of the state of the economy and how the social researcher is dominating the marketplace,” says Sullivan. ““Abandonment follows from that. More people are doing research and they’re price-sensitive, so they’re opening up more carts to check out the price.”